Goldsworth Park resident Desiree Eriksson-Hills, 36, believes those who have been through such an ordeal should be treated along the lines of people suffering from conditions such as diabetes and epilepsy and receive free medication. The cartographer, who received her life-saving operation in St George’s Hospital at the age of 23, said: “This rule has not been changed since the NHS came into being in 1948 and it desperately needs updating.” Having put together a national petition of around 3,000 signatures, she co-opted Woking MP Humfrey Malins to present the document to parliament. He told peers in the House of Commons in March that laws should be modernised so transplant patients fell in line with other patients who received free prescriptions. In response the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health said: “Our policy is to give priority to helping people who may have difficulty in paying charges rather than extending the exemption arrangements to people with other medical conditions including organ transplant patients.” Mr Malins said: “In my experience, petitions presented to the government rarely achieve the desired effect in the short or even medium term, though undoubtedly civil servants take note of them as being representative of public opinion. “The best way forward is for me to harry ministers on the point which I am happy to do.” Doctors first discovered Desiree had cardiomyopathy in 1993 when she was aged 18. She explained: “I was breathless and tired all the time. “A few years later my heart almost stopped as I was doing too much and I was given different medication and a pacemaker. “Soon it became apparent that my enlarged heart was not going to respond to anything — a transplant was my only hope.” Although, she pays just £86 a year for a ‘season ticket’ which supplies her with drugs for blood pressure, cholesterol levels and hypertension, Desiree says that the matter is now one of principal. “Without anti-rejection drugs such as cyclosporis we could not survive and not all patients are in such a secure financial position as me. “This medication helps the immune system to accept the alien organs.” Unsure of her life expectancy, Desiree is putting on a brave face for the future and hoping her campaign will benefit other patients. “Now people are living up to 25 years after they have had the operation but you just never know. “I keep smiling and appreciate every day of my life. “Right now I feel fantastic thanks to plenty of exercise and a low fat diet,” said Desiree, who has been married to husband Trevor for 10 years. “I’m a survivor but without the support of my husband I wouldn’t have made it. “Now I am determined to fight on for the sake of others and I have contacted the local MEPs to put forward the case for modernisation of the law. “We will not give up and if the European Parliament is the only option left open then so be it.” To visit Desiree’s website for details of the campaign log on to www.desiheart.co.uk .